Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1887-02-26
Just Virdict.

Just virdict.
There is a tendency in human nature
to place the cause Of failure outside of
personal inability, and this is nowhere
more prominently exemplifed than in
the develoment and prosecution Of min
ing enterprise.
The pages Of the history Of every min
ing camp are marked by numberless ex-
amples Of the failure Of one mining
prospect after another, in the hands Of
certain parties, which afterward, by
more persistent energy and larger cap
ital, yield most abundant returns.
No mine is probably at this time so
prominently i'm the foreground, as the
Granite Mountain mine in Montana;
whose prosperity has had a marked eff
feet in exciting interest in this business
in certain localities. Yet this mine fur
nishes one Of the most notable instances
OF the fact that failure and loss oil in
vcstment may not always be Justly at
tributed to any lack OF value or per-
manence in ore or mine. The fact that
. person may fail to scale q mountain
height, argues nothing against the GER
tainty of the existence Of the mountain,
or al We have stated, the failure Of a
certain amount Of energy and capital to
produce a mine, cannot justly be brought
as evidence to prove the worthlessness
or uncertainty of the mining industry.
In the Granite Mountain mine over
$200, 100000 had been invested The
owners had resolved to suspend opera.
tions and abandon the work. A telegram
was sent to the superintendent, order
ing him to discontinue; falling to receive
The order, or at least failing to obey, q
few days work reached the ore body
and now in twenty-five consecutive
months this mine has paid ST. SOC, 900 in
dividends, besides adding largely to the
material value and growth of the locality
in which il is situated. This is one in
stance of thousands which may be given
20 illustrate this feature. The same
thing is true to a large extent In regard
to large investments in mining opera
tons, and it has become a noted saving
that prospectors and discoveries, like
inventors, never reap half the reward of
their labors. The ~discoverer Of the
Comstock mines sold out his interest for
a mere song, and yet over $i00, 000, 600
nave been taken from the same proper
ty. General Logan and Governor Rout,
we're owners of a silver mine in Colorado.
In 1876 Logan sold his half for a very
small sum-. Governor Routt holding on
for a year or two longer, realized 5000
600 in cash.
In hundreds of instances, condemned
and Abandoned mines which have been
given up by their owners as worthless,
have in other hands proven T. be most
valuable and reliable. These facts are
given to show that a large per cent of
the chance, uncertainty and risk which
Is attributed to mining as a business
cannot be justly charged against il. but
must be to a large degree attributable to
the changeableness, weakness, ignor-
ance, inexperience and cupidity Of hui
nan nature.
The wholesale destruction of the crops
Of any one locality from storm, insect
pest. unfavorable season or any other
cause, In no degree shakes the faith in
the character and permanence Of agricul-
ture as an industry, The failure of a
large per cent, of men in merchandising
and other commercial enterprises, gives
no shadow of stain upon the legitimacy
Of this line ofinvestment. Neither does
1t dampen the ardor of scores of others
gushing in to I'LL the places Of those
who have fallen. The causes Of failure
here appear to be justly attributed to
the right source, but when these ~vicissit.
udes common to all human efforts az
feet the result in the development of
mines and the profit Of mining, the case
appears to be changed and judgement
perverted, so that an industry whose
resources are permanent, indestructihle
and free from thousands Of dangers
which beset almost every other avenue
of human activity, is unjustly charged
with the responsibility and held &C
countable for all the loss and disap-
pointment which occUrs. Not only JUS
tice but the best interest of this great
industry demands that it should be
placed in its true light as it must ulti
mately stand upon It's own basis and
gain its permanent growth from it's own
intrinsic character and value.-Chicaco
Mining Review.
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